


Like No One's Watching

by thehatpotato



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Blind Character, Canon Compliant, Dancing, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Love, POV Toph Beifong, Party, Sweet, Tokka - Freeform, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-18
Updated: 2020-09-18
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:48:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26534614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thehatpotato/pseuds/thehatpotato
Summary: "Miss Beifong," he began. His voice was level with her ear, which Toph could only assume meant he was leaned over in some kind of extravagant bow. Putting on what must have been his fanciest voice, he continued, "It would give me the greatest pleasure if you would allow me to lead you through a dance." The gust of cold air that swirled across her cheeks meant that his hand was now held out to her, waiting for her to accept his invitation.She fought hard to keep the blush off of her face. "Woah now, Captain Boomerang, I still don't know how to dance."Sokka straightened, but only a little. "I'll teach you."---Sokka teaches Toph how to dance. S03 E02, The Headband.
Relationships: Toph Beifong & Sokka, Toph Beifong/Sokka
Comments: 29
Kudos: 88





	Like No One's Watching

**Author's Note:**

> In case y'all wanted to know my level of dedication to random fics, I flat out TAUGHT MYSELF HOW TO DANCE for this one. So you're welcome.

Toph sat on her makeshift earth bench, sipping a suspiciously fruity drink that Katara had given her. Or, handed to her. Actually, now that she thought about it, Katara had probably just been asking her to _hold_ her drink while she danced with Twinkle Toes. Oh well, that was on her for giving unclear instructions to a blind girl.

Quite a while ago, Toph had raised her seat just high enough that her feet didn't quite touch the ground. Usually, that was a no go, but tonight, with the clambering footsteps of at least a hundred Fire Nation brats, her seismic senses were going nuts. It was this or suffer through the whole night with a splitting headache. Nonetheless, it was probably why she didn't hear him coming.

"Umm, hi! I'm Mozu."

Quick as a wink, Toph jumped off her chair and stomped her foot to the ground, getting a good read of him.

He was taller than her, but that was to be expected, she supposed. By the way he held himself, the loose, agile movements of his joints, and the slightly high pitched twinge in his voice, Toph guessed that he must be around her age, give or take a year. One way or another, though, he was definitely Fire Nation.

She crossed her arms and leaned into one hip, "I'm Toph."

"That's a beautiful name!" he continued.

She didn't have the courtesy to grace that with a response. She had never heard anyone refer to her name as 'beautiful' and she preferred it that way. What was the matter with this kid?

After a sufficiently long and awkward silence, Mozu spoke again. "Do you go to FNEA? I don't recognize you."

Toph scrunched up her nose like she had run into a skunk bear. "F-N- what now?"

Mozu just giggled - _giggled_ \- and said, "You know, Fire Nation Elitist Academy?"

"What makes it so elite?" she scoffed.

His weight shifted uncomfortably, and Toph couldn't understand it for the life of her. He held himself like he was a man about to fight a wild boar-q-pine, but _he_ was the one who kept on wanting to talk to her. Why was he here?

"Uhh," he chuckled and Toph could feel the nerves rolling off of him in waves, "Would you like to maybe… dance?"

"Oh."

She didn't see _that_ coming. Not that she saw anything coming, but that was besides the point. Shakily, she tried to stop herself from laughing at her own joke.

"Umm, sorry, but no. I don't feel great," she lied.

"Right, sorry. I hope you feel better."

"Thanks, Mozu."

"Bye, Toph."

She waited until his footsteps were far away before sitting down hard with a loud huff. For the sake of not having to deal with any more surprise visitors, she lowered her bench. A headache was better than having to deal with that again.

"Uhh, Toph?"

Oh no.

She focused her senses in the direction of the voice, but was relieved to only find Sokka.

"What?"

"Why didn't you go dance with him?"

Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "How long have you been there?" she snapped.

She could practically hear him rolling his eyes. "I've literally been sitting across from you the entire night."

"Oh… right. Sorry, Meathead, I guess you're just pretty forgettable."

"Yeah, yeah, okay. But why didn't you dance with him? He seemed - I don't know - nice."

"Hey! No fraternizing with the enemy is _your_ rule." She blew a few strands of her bangs out of her face.

"Toph, we're currently throwing a secret dance party in a cave for 'the enemy.' I think we're a little beyond that."

She turned her head in the direction of the stage she had made. If nothing else, she could listen to the beat of the music. "Besides, I couldn't dance even if I wanted to. You know, no seeing and all."

"You don't need sight to dance! Well, arguably, it does make it _easier_ , I suppose. But it's about, you know, rhythm and… movement." His voice held the tone of conviction it always got when he wanted to prove a point.

The air around her _did_ seem pretty heavy with excitement. And the chatters and laughs that echoed around the cavern were certainly joyous. But it didn't matter. "I've never danced before and I don't see a reason to start now."

Sokka paused like he was truly contemplating her words. Finally, "You've _never_ danced? What about when you lived with your parents? Weren't you Earth Kingdom nobility? Surely you've attended your fair share of stuck up, floofy parties."

Nope. In fact, she had never even had a proper birthday party.

"You're forgetting," she stopped to scrape a piece of dirt out from under her fingernail, "that I was _secret_ Earth Kingdom nobility. Too high risk to leave the property."

Sokka snorted and then full on laughed. He really had a nice laugh. It complemented his voice well. She took another sip of Katara's drink. Something was starting to make her feel dizzy, but she didn't mind. If anything, it was fun.

All of a sudden, he stood up and - from what she could tell by the vibrations - started to move towards her.

"Miss Beifong," he began. His voice was level with her ear, which Toph could only assume meant he was leaned over in some kind of extravagant bow. Putting on what must have been his fanciest voice, he continued, "It would give me the greatest pleasure if you would allow me to lead you through a dance." The gust of cold air that swirled across her cheeks meant that his hand was now held out to her, waiting for her to accept his invitation.

She fought hard to keep the blush off of her face. "Woah now, Captain Boomerang, I still don't know _how_ to dance."

Sokka straightened, but only a little. "I'll teach you."

With all excuses out of the way, Toph gradually stood up from her seat and placed her hand in his. "Okay, okay, but we have to go somewhere where that Mozu kid can't see us."

"Woah, Toph. Not like you to care about someone's feelings!" he joked.

Toph glared at what she hoped was his face, but was more realistically his shoulder, and growled, "Watch it."

"I'm kidding, gosh! Right, umm, how 'bout behind the stage. That way we can still hear the music."

"Sounds good to me," she shrugged. The music wasn't exactly her top concern right now.

As Sokka led her through the crowd, she let herself consider what was actually happening. She was going to dance with Sokka! Sokka had asked _her_ to dance with him. Her heart fluttered in a way that made her glad she was the only one with seismic senses. Halfheartedly, she tried to remind herself that this didn't matter, that they were just two best friends who were bored at a party, but she couldn't help the small grin that played at the corners of her lips.

They didn't stop walking until the voices and stomping feet sounded muffled and far away.

"The basic root of dance is about being able to express yourself and your emotions through the movements of your body." His voice oozed with that of an arrogant teacher, and she could just tell he was stroking the end of his Wang Fire beard. She rolled her eyes as dramatically as she could. She didn't quite understand what was so enticing about the rolling of eyes, but apparently seeing people appreciated it.

Kicking at a clump of dirt under her feet, she grunted, "Yeah, yeah, I get the principle. But how do you actually _do_ it?"

"Okay, fine! If you don't want my expertise," he sighed in mock offense. Toph smirked. "Start by putting your left hand on my right shoulder… like this." He reached out and caught hold of her arm, gently pulling her towards him. At last, her palm met the warm fabric of his shirt.

His free hand clasped onto hers and held on tight, like he was assuring her of his guidance, but all she could do was wonder why this felt like the most natural thing in the world. Her hand in his.

It wasn't like she was unfamiliar with the concept. On the contrary, it was quite routine. They had an unspoken agreement that anytime she needed help or couldn't 'see', she held onto him, and anytime it was pitch black or he was - she pondered for a moment - high on cactus juice, he held onto her. Needless to say, the latter occurred much less frequently. But somehow, this was different.

In a literal sense, the angle was different. Instead of pulling each other along, they were meeting in the middle. That wasn't all, though. Inwardly, it felt pure and right. Without the shadow of fear or urgenc-

Suddenly, before Toph could even finish her thought, Sokka's other arm was wrapping around her waist, and drawing them together like magnets. She gulped.

The music swelled into a new tune, and all she could focus on was how little space separated them.

"Okay." His voice sounded weird for some reason, but he cleared his throat before she could quite catch why. "I'm going to step forward with one foot and you step back with this foot." The tip of his boot nudged her right shin. "Ready, set, go." They stepped together in what she hoped was perfect unison.

"Good! Now your other leg is going to step out. Ready, set, go."

Her eyebrows furrowed in concentration. Deep breath and left leg out.

"No, your other out." He tapped the ground where her foot was supposed to be, and she focused on the vibrations. "Yeah, like that!"

"Now to put it together." Shoot, she had already forgotten the first part.

"Wait," she interrupted, desperate to buy a little time. "How do you even know how to dance?"

"I'll have you know that my _Gran-Gran_ taught me this little number."

Toph snickered, "Your grandmother taught you how to dance?"

"Hey! She's very talented! Now…"

He stepped forward and she moved her foot back just in time to avoid it being squished. "Hey, watch it, Beard Boy! These aren't real shoes, remember?" When they stepped to the side again, Toph was pretty sure she had the hang of it.

"Now, bring the first foot back to the second foot and reverse it!"

She nearly choked. "Do the _what now_?"

"Umm, like," he fumbled for a moment. "So instead of going back, side, together, you'll go front, side together. But on the other foot."

Head completely empty, Toph pulled herself away. Oh Spirits, this had been a mistake. "I told you, I can't dance."

"Yes, you can! Just… ooh! I got it! Just think of it as fighting."

"You clearly haven't fought with me enough if you think that's a good idea," she quipped, eyebrows furrowed.

"No, listen," he grabbed her hand again and pulled her close. Naturally, her other palm reclaimed its spot on his shoulder. "When you fight someone, you sense the vibrations of their movements, right?" She nodded. "And that's how you're able to dodge their attacks and know where they are! Do the same thing with dancing. Focus on what I'm doing, and match it. Oh and also, sometimes it helps if you count to three."

"Okay, fine."

She felt him pick his foot up, so she stepped back on her own. One. And then to the side. Two. Together. Three. She let out a breathy puff of disbelieving laughter and on the next beat, when she once again stepped in time with him, she stopped overthinking it. By the sixth set of 1,2,3's, they were gliding gracefully across the dirt floor of the cave.

"I'm doing it!" she cheered. "Sokka, look! I'm actually dancing!" Using his real name felt strange, and she could tell he thought so, too, if the way his heart skipped a beat was any indication.

Swirling and swooping, they sailed across the floor as one, battling each other in the most elegant fight either had ever fought.

After several more cycles, she let her head drop against Sokka's chest, and, if only for a moment, allowed herself to forget all of the anger, fear, and frustration that so often clouded her mind. No comet, no parents, no kidnappers, no war. Just her and her friends dancing in a cave. Just Toph, earthbender extraordinaire, having the time of her life.

She beamed with happiness.

The air surrounding them felt hot, but it was probably just the candles that Sweetness had insisted they light. Probably.

"Can I try and spin you?"

If she interrupted the now familiar pattern, there was a very real possibility of not being able to find it again, but she nodded all the same. At once, she was released from his hold and twirled around, cold air whipping at her skin, while their fingertips performed a dance of their own. He pulled her back in, but before she could fully regain her footing _or_ her wits, he dipped her low to the ground.

As if on cue, the music ended with a resounding bang, and she smiled.

"Thanks for teaching me, Meathead."

"Anytime."

She punched him in the arm. _Hard_.

"Sokka, Toph, we gotta get out of here!" Sugar Queen was running towards them, clearly out of breath. "The head of the school!" she panted. "He's here!"

"Then it's _our_ time to GET THE HECK OUT OF HERE!" Sokka cried. Without even a second's thought, he grabbed Toph's hand and, together, they raced out the back exit.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope y'all enjoyed and let me know what you think!!


End file.
